The area is a biking paradise with a rabbit warren of biking trails running through the forests. Most of the course was through loamy pine trees with plenty of roots, switchbacks and the perfect spring sunshine  on race day even bringing some dust. The organisers had put in a huge amount of trail building work and some of the freshly cut sections switchbacking through deep, soft pine needles and moss were amazing fun to ride. Other sections were more rocky and although in general the trails were more high speed than technical, there was plenty of variety to keep you on your toes.

The transitions between the stages were also great to ride, often passing through tiny villages or farm areas with views of the surrounding hills and lots of little singletrack climbs. Infact there were some positively adventurous sections, we had to do some via ferrata style rock climbing carrying bikes at one point! The time limits were generous so there was plenty of time to chat and enjoy the relaxed friendly atmosphere. After the race oven cooked pizzas were served beside a lake for all the competitors – love the French attitude to making these events so sociable and fun!

I was really looking forward to getting underway with racing and putting the new Enduro 29er to the test but didn’t have the greatest of races. Not a total disaster, I finished 5th, but can do better! I can’t exactly say why, it was just a frustrating day where things didn’t come together and I got to the end of each stage thinking I should have been much faster. Brakes not fully functioning, terrain I’m not used to, a minor crash, head not in high speed gear – all excuses, will ride faster next time!

Race video here – I’m worse at interviews than I am at riding bikes.

Yes you read it right, a 24 hour race in a Velodrome. Until now I’ve avoided any long distance races like the plague, they go against everything I enjoy about racing and I’d much rather go flat out for a short time. But I have persuasive friends and decided to be open minded and give it a try.

First was the slight issue that I’ve never ridden in a velodrome before so I found myself on Monday evening at the new track in Grenchen to learn the ropes. I had Fiola to teach me and quickly realised I just needed to turn my brain off an follow her so after a few minutes I’d forgotten about having no brakes and we were shooting around at the top of a 45 degree slope at high speed. I finished the evening buzzing and almost looking forward to the 24 hour thing.

I did the race for the Big Machine Club with four others who all happen to work for BMC so I was spoilt with a super pimped out bike for the day. Our strategy was 35 minutes on, 35 break, 35 on again and then a break of 3 hours with a total of 8 times on the track each. So really it was 4 sets of 2 x 35 minute intervals spread over 24 hours. Easy right? I was expecting 24 hour races to be a bit slow and lacking in adrenaline but our team strategy meant we were riding flat out fast for the full time.  Breakaways came and went, sometimes you were on with strong guys and it hurt like hell, legs burning counting down the minutes until a teammate took over.

Riding a few laps following someone you trust is a bit different to jumping into a high speed bunch race but by the time I was up it was a case of sink or swim. It was a bit freaky riding at 40kmph being boxed in front and back with people riding just above my head knowing that i had no brakes but I tried not to think about it and got more comfortable as time went on. It certainly wasn’t boring (maybe because riding the track was still a novelty to me), you had to concentrate hard, stick to the wheel in front, watch for riders flying past above, decide to jump and keep up with faster guys, sprint to close gaps as others lost the pace, bury yourself with a turn on the front.

In the long breaks there was time to shower, eat and get an hour or two of sleep so that you recovered a bit for the next interval. Riding at 4.30am after an hour sleep was the hardest for me mentally but the most painful were the last two intervals to finish of the race at 7pm – there was no winding down at the end, the speed went up and despite burning legs, sore hands and problems with sitting on the saddle it was totally eyeballs out, full gas racing until the end. Luckily I had the loudest spectators in the velodrome cheering for me making it easier to give it all before collapsing at the end!

We finished the 1st mixed team and 2nd overall with an average speed of over 42kmph over the 24 hours (results here). Great event, very well run and I’m surprising myself by saying I would recommend it. Now seriously considering how I can justify getting myself a track bike…

What a weekend! Autumn sunshine, dry dusty super technical trails, a rare chance to swim in the sea, awesome food and coffee – Finale Ligure is a close as you can get to paradise so to have the chance to spend 4 days riding and racing against the best riders in the world was amazing.

Day 1 covered 47km with 1500m of climbing to access the 3 timed stages on a stunning route through the mountains behind Finale often overlooking the sea (unfortunately the 4th stage was cancelled due to a bad crash). The first stage was the shortest of the race and despite being the least technical it included a couple of steep drops and plenty of rocky sections to keep the enthusiastic Italian crowds entertained. I need to learn to chill out at the start of races, rode like a nervous idiot, ignored all the nice lines I’d picked out in practice and generally made things hard for myself.

As I flicked my seatpost up to tackle the long technical climb up to stage 2 my seatpost cable snapped – disaster! I decided to get to the top and try to fix it there when I knew how much time I had. I couldn’t get the snapped cable out to replace it but with seconds to spare I managed to get the seat down so that at least I could ride the technical stage somewhat safely. The stage was quite flowy in the beginning before turning into a steep rocky climb requiring concentration and power. I had to stand up because of the saddle and half way up my legs were exploding and I had to hop off and run – bummer, was planning to use xc skills to my advantage and instead lost time here! After that the course dropped into a long and extremely technical downhill with several rock gardens, drops and sharp steep switchbacks. It took full focus and concentration to remember what was coming up and which line to take. I rode it all, got down cleanly and caught a couple of girls en route but next year I have to make myself take some of the shortcut racing lines for extra speed (big loose drops, head said no!).

After passing back through the town with a chance to stop in at the pit area where Specialized came to the rescue and fixed my seatpost, we had to tackle another long and at times even more technical climb up to Mani, where stunning sea views awaited. Stage 3 began fast, turned into a very short flat out climb and then descended from the top of the mountain down to the sea. The track got steeper and more rocky towards the bottom with some extremely tight switchbacks followed by a few flights of stairs which popped out in the village square in Noli. Rode ok, problem free and lots of fun.

Sunday began with a steady 14km road climb up to the first stage of the day where we arrived half an hour early. After sitting round chatting I picked up my bike with 2 minutes to go and realised I had a flat tyre – major panic, just got it inflated and legged it to the start. This one started out fast, all downhill but with some chances to pedal before the trail got more technical taking in some big rock gardens, switchbacks and loose drifty corners. Lost some time getting stuck behind some of the girls in front but amazing stage, so much fun to ride.

Having survived that all that was left was another uphill road slog to the top of stage 6, a repeat of the 2nd stage from Saturday. After another deflated tyre and pre-start panic (tubeless not sealed properly!) I hammered the climb this time and caught 2 girls before the top so that I could have a clear run at the descent. I had my lines dialled by this stage and rode it all perfectly until 50m from the end when there was nothing left to do I somehow wiped out and lost time getting tangled up in my bike. Doh. I was not happy with myself but quickly got over it after a short pedal back into the paddock in the centre of town where there was time for swimming in the sea and freshly made pasta. The party afterwards was another story in itself and I’m still feeling wrecked from it!

I finished 23rd overall, happy enough for a first EWS. My times were getting comparatively faster each stage and to survive the course without walking stuff or having an major incidents was a good start. Thanks to Fox for the fork service after Saturday, the difference a bit of suspension makes is amazing.

Can’t wait for next year!

At the weekend I raced the BMC Chauxmont Super D in Neuchatel in the french speaking Swiss Jura. 5 times stages over 16km with 2200m descending connected by 19km/1200m liasons and two uplifts. The weather was pretty wet with on and off downpours all day and although we timed it well to avoid being drowned, the steep ground was very muddy and slippery.

The race was ridden blind with 10-15 minute stages mostly through the forest. In between some lung bursting pedalling sections the trails were pretty steep with lots of rocks, roots and drops. It made a nice mixture and the course was really fun to ride but the mud added a different dimension. The Jura seems to have an ability to make me ride like an idiot and after crashing early on my head went and I spent most of the day crashing down hills. At one point I came hurtling towards the end of a trail and only realising at the last minute that there was a good 80 cm drop onto a fireroad, I panicked and tried to slow down too late so ended up flying off it and landing on my head/elbow (finding a large pebble wedged in my elbow in the showers after). The rest were mostly emergency exits or wiping out and sliding down things tangled up in a bike.

In between times when I managed to ride there were some really cool bits of trail, some fast flowy sections that complimented the technical bits nicely, and a few pedally bits where I could make up some lost time! It was a long day out, by the last descent it was getting dark in the woods making it very difficult to see the trail or judge distances and drops so it was good to reach the finish where a bike wash, hot showers and homemade pizza cooked in an oven in the back of a van made an enjoyable end to a great event. Other than learning to ride I must learn French if I’m going to do more Enduro racing, the last 2 years learning German is proving useless and its rubbish not being able to talk to people!

Nice video of the race here, I’m demonstrating how not to ride at 3 mins (there were far worse moments luckily not on camera, at least I saved this one!). Enduro lesson of the day: do not think, just do. Every time you question yourself, hesitate, dab, run you suddenly loose a minute and the race is over.

Next weekend racing in the Alps with snow forecast…

The Jura is a mountain range running through France and Switzerland towards the Alps and although the mountains are relatively low level, they can be very steep. The area is mostly covered in forest with lots of limestone rocks underneath so the mountain biking is pretty technical. The race was a 30km loop with 1200m climbing, one bus uplift and 7 timed stages of 3-10 minutes.

The terrain took some getting used to, its unusual to have such a combination of forest trails with roots as well as sharp greasy rocks. The stages somewhat blur into one by the end of the race but there were a few that stood out. Stage two was fairly horrible beginning with a pedally descent before coming into a really technical rocky climb/traverse that seemed to go on forever. I normally love technical climbing but this was aweful, I’d say unrideable! The slippy uneven rock slabs ran along a ridge so that if you slipped there were big consequences and everyone I talked to had to run sections. When I finally came to the descent section my flow and rhythm was gone and ended up running down some of the steep rocky switchbacks there too. Not fun, was glad when it was over.

After that it got a bit better, everything was rideable and I was getting used to the terrain. Then stage 6 came along. The first few minutes were xc style in the forest (good xc though, hard pedaling with lots of rocks and roots!) before a short climb dropped us into an incredible long descent through the forest. This was insane, so much fun that my tired brain suddenly found the energy to focus and ride properly. The ground was damp and the slightly greasy mud full of small stones, the trail was as steep as the horrible one in stage two and if I’d have stopped I might not have ridden it but the momentum was there and it just got better and better. Super tight steep switchbacks one after the other with occasional rock drops took us down the hill, each time I wondered if I could get around the corner, it was a case of weight as far off the back as possible, turn the bars and slide hoping not to land on the next bit of trail 3m below. Each time the corner was perfectly built to catch you as you slid around. Brilliant.

Stage 7 was a slightly downhill flat out 2.5 min sprint back to the starting area with two racers starting alongside each other – a chance to satisfy the rider on rider competition that I miss with Enduros. I lined up against race winner Lorraine Truong (Norco World Enduro Team) and she got the hole shot as we sprinted absolutely flat out across a field before going into the woods. I was on her wheel through a twisty rooty singletrack before we hit a big swampy puddle and I got stuck! I lost 50m there but clawed back to almost close the gap before we finished with exploding lungs and pumped full of adrenaline.

The Race was based at a farm with showers and bike wash provided, and afterwards an evening meal and beer on tap served in a big wooden barn surrounded by hay bales. Its really cool to go to a fairly small local event and see so many passionate people getting involved to put on a cool event. I finished 2nd and am looking forward to another race in the area in a few weeks where I intend to sleep more beforehand!

cool video of the race here.

Prologue

The race began on Saturday evening with a flat out 40 second sprint as fast as your nerves would let you down a short trail, around a steep berm, through a few concrete corners and finishing with a mad sprint up the main street of the village. Pure adrenaline, a party atmosphere and great spectating with lots of crashes.

4 x timed stages, 2 x chairlifts, 2 x 550m climbs 

After a chairlift and a 20 minute climb we began the race proper surrounded by Alpine mountains still covered in snow not far above us. A nice singletrack lead to a short climb and some very fast sections through meadows and bogs where you had to be flat out stomping on the pedals before hitting a  fun bermed pump track style bike park down to the town. I entirely messed up one section and lost a good 40 seconds, not warmed up properly or not in the zone, either way I need to find out how to start these things better!

From there we had a good hour of hot climbing up to stage 2. Not pleasant on a bouncy bike lugging loads of body armour and a full-face helmet along but the views and the banter made it bearable. The sociable relaxed atmosphere at these races and the chance to meet like minded people from all over the world makes it great fun. The second stage was a monster, beginning with off-camber trails cut through grassy pastures it dropped into the forest into endless root covered rutted singletrack that was all perfectly rideable and great fun be to go fast was utter body destruction. Standing on the pedals the whole time, legs burning trying to pump the bike over bumps and around corners, arms screaming reluctant to pull the brakes and brain struggling to stay focused to pick a line and remember what was coming up. It was a relief to get into another bike park section towards the bottom with some fun drops, jumps and swooping berms.

Stage 3 and 4 were a repeat of the first 2 stages – something we thought a bit boring at first but actually a great idea and chance to do justice to the mistakes of the first time. Stage 3 I rode much better and moved up the rankings. The climb to stage 4 seemed longer and steeper. Stage 4 itself was torture by the end, my body had given up. I was shouting to myself ‘get of the brakes, get off the brakes’ but if I did that I could barely hold the bars and my legs were quivering standing up! savage stuff.

I finished 11th against a some strong international riders so happy enough. An amazing weekend, brilliant trails and really tough racing. Lots to improve on, each race I learn more about what not to do than anything else. Now time to hit the gym!

Full report of the women’s race over on Devil in a Dress

Saturday – 4 timed stages, max ride time 4 hours. Hot sun & dust.

After a long steady climb through pine forest there was a quick stop to put on the invincibility armour, flick switches and press buttons to morph the bikes into freeride machienes. Stage 1 was 7-9 minutes of dry rooty woodland singletrack and one short pedally section. Longish off camber sections with steep switchbacks and perfectly bermed dirt to catch you as you slid around. The trails were so much fun – like supersized version of Castlewellen in Ireland and even better no climbs! I didn’t have my racehead fully in gear and was far too polite when I caught the two girls that set off in front of me so lost a load of time but otherwise good.

After more slow climbing with plenty of chat and banter (although mostly in French, I had to seek out ther Germans so I could talk to people!), stage two was slightly longer with lots more off camber trails covered in roots and rocks, which was fine to ride but if you made a mistake you could have easily ended up halfway down the hill as it dropped of steeply below! After a few short lung bursting pedally sections, we dropped into freshly cut dusty singletrack, getting steeper with a few jumps (dodgy when you dont know whats coming over the other side!) and more amazing berms to sling the bike around towards the end.

Stage three was a bit more pedally with some short fireroad sections, flattish singletrack and of course plenty of switchbacks. Just before the end one of the singletracks turned sharply into a really nasty steep climb that required full concentration and max heartrate just to get up, before dropping straight into a technical section with a steep drop that required the ‘brain off’ switch. Lactic overload – not easy to stay composed!

Stage four was shorter through off-camber grassy meadows, a short rocky forest section with a token gesture of mud and finishing by flying through the local vegetable gardens amid lots of shouting and cowbells to finish in the village centre where beer, roast pig and a live band awaited. I finished fourth on the day but with only 8 seconds off 3rd so the race was on!

Sunday – 3 timed stages, max time 3.5 hours. Storms overnight, still warm.

Today began with two shorter 4-8 minute stages, one fast through the meadows (need to stop braking, lost far too much time on the easy parts!) and the other through the woods with some slightly greasy rocky parts after dramatic thunderstorms overnight (scary listening to the sky explode as I lay in my tent, not much sleep either!). I messed up on one of the rocky drops trying to get around someone who had stopped at the top and ending up running down, I probably lost a minute so bang went my chances of the podium – a small mistake can cost you so much in these things! The last stage was longer with more fun forest trails and a couple of pretty long uphills that left you full of lactic and gasping for breath, before again finishing in the village for more traditional French food and beer. Enduro racing might be worth all the hype!

I finished 4th in the end, a good bit behind the winners so lots to improve on although the top three were all locals and I think the blind racing just means local win! The whole event was really well organised with a great relaxed atmosphere and of course great trails. Highly recommended.

On practice day it rained non stop. After a chairlift to the top, we were allowed to pre-ride two of the descents and the rest would be raced blind. The ‘easier’ one was a real challenge to get down never mind ride fast. Thick slippery mud everywhere, some really steep sections and lots of sharp greasy rocks. Having been told by my downhiller companions that the second descent was really technical I was starting to get worried and with good reason. It was nothing short of a downhill trail, switchback after switchback of incredibly steep rocky trail that was so so hard to ride but equally impossible to walk. In the dry it would have been manageable but covered in greasy sloppy mud it was pushing me way out of my comfort zone. I finished wondering how on earth I would survive two days of racing. It did make me feel a bit better to hear former downhill world champ Tracey Mosely also saying it was tough.

Saturday Race – 4 timed stages, 3 chairlift rides, 1 long non-timed climb
The first run was the easier one I had practiced the day before but due to a mix up I was entered in the men’s category and rather than racing separately with the girls I had to deal with loads of irate testosterone filled French guys screaming at me as they flew past. It was freezing cold, wet and muddy and I’m not sure how much I enjoyed it but I survived. It’s unbelievable how much time you can loose with a small mistake, dab in the mud and a minute disappears in no time, smooth riding was the key, practice required.

The second was a blind stage, and with more pedalling and slightly less vertical, rooty forest trails that were at times like Ireland, I started to enjoy myself. Sprinting flat out for two minutes so that you’re full of lactic and breathing like a donkey and then having to compose yourself as you drop into a technical descent is not easy but at least I started to feel I was racing.

After a long, non-timed climb to the start, stage three was a slightly altered and longer version of the horrible downhill we practiced the day before. The top section was amazing fun, sliding around in the mud and pushing the limits but with little pedalling required. The really steep part was a survival challenge and I was happy to get down in one piece without being taken out by any over enthusiastic euros.

After an extended lunch break and a lot of jet-washing the last stage took in some sections we had ridden in the morning along with some really fun, swoopy bomb-holes in the forest that were filled with noisy spectators. The weather had improved slightly so that it was in places almost dry making it great fun.

Having already been given breakfast and lunch, in the evening the organisers provided a three course meal with wine for all the competitors, a welcome break from shivering in my tent. Despite the weather there was a very friendly relaxed atmosphere and it was clear that racing in France has it’s benefits.

Sunday – 1 chairlift, 1 downhill stage
The weather got worse rather than better, it rained solidly all night and by Sunday the top of the mountain had disappeared in cloud. The race was postponed for a couple of hours and rather than a planned pursuit stage, we repeated stage 4 from yesterday. Shivering on the chairlift covered in a bin-bag poncho to try and stay dry before arriving to a sprinkling of snow at the top didn’t help my enthusiasm, but I had go this far so was determined to finish. It took me half the run to get warm but after the halfway sprint I got into it and had an amazing time. The mud had got so wet that there was nothing to do but slide, and once you accepted that it was so much fun! Although there is loads to improve on I learned a lot and was happy to finish, only 212 people did with nearly 650 entrants starting. Results here.

Thanks to Greg for the shelter in his van!

]]> https://www.caitelliott.co.uk/blog/2013/05/15/metabief-open-enduro/feed/ 0 https://www.caitelliott.co.uk/blog/2013/03/17/fruhlings-cup-brutten/ https://www.caitelliott.co.uk/blog/2013/03/17/fruhlings-cup-brutten/#comments Sun, 17 Mar 2013 10:10:08 +0000 Cait http://www.caitelliott.co.uk/blog/?p=3525 Continue reading →]]> Racing in Switzerland in February? you’d have to be mad! The Steiner season kicked of with the Frühlings Cup, a local 3 race crit series with a handicapped start. The first race was 40km in sub zero temperature, surrounded by snow and full on winter kit. I forgot my sunglasses and it was so cold I started to get dizzy because my eyeballs froze! After a long break I was reminded that racing is hard work especially when all the categories are mixed together and a little ‘local’ race here involves World champions, pro riders and very fast guys. There is also no hiding or kidding yourself either, racing confirmed what I’ve been trying to deny, my calves are not better. I’ll spare you the rant but I finished with calf explosions, out the back and very annoyed.

By the last race the temperatures had increased and an incredible panorama of the Alps in the background reminded me why its worth putting up with the cold winter here. The distance increased to 17 laps of a 4km circuit and Yves took his 2nd win and the overall series for the Steiner team! Handicapped races are asking for disaster, large pelotons coming together at totally different speeds on narrow roads, erratic riding and questionable bike handling skills. You really had to have your wits about you in there with several crashes and rideres frequently taking detours into the neighbouring fields. Fiola had a nasty crash putting her out of the race when she was well positioned for a great ride, get well soon!









Back to pestering doctors and cycling wise plan B is the focus…

After last weekend I was almost ready to quit cycling and had no interest whatsoever in going the final race of the year at the BMBS in Plymouth. I only made the effort because everything was booked and paid for but I went into it with very low expectations, only hoping that I could at least rediscover an enjoyment of racing.

elite women's start

Photo credit: Bob Bogdan Williams

photo credit: Bob Bogdan Williams

Photo credit: Bob Bogdan Williams

Photo credit: Bob Bogdan Williams

photo credit: Bob Bogdan Williams